The present invention relates to a collapsible portable shelter or storage area.
1. Prior Art
Bouck, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,635,814 teaches a canopy for an automobile which is adapted to be supported on a frame which is detachably mounted to a vehicle.
Berbeck, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,777,028 teaches a portable building with special reference to a portable knock-down garage. The patent describes a wood frame structure which may be covered with canvas or another covering material, in which the members of the wood frame structure are held together with sockets and socket engaging fingers.
Comber, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,523,195 teaches a tent which is held together by a collapsible framework which may be used in camping, and packed and transported as desired. The frame structure is preferably braced by tie connections and angle braces, and forms a rigid support for the body of the tent.
Collins, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,262 teaches portable shelters having a roof frame comprising a plurality of tubular bar sections and connector fittings for detachably joining the bar sections.
Griffith, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,866 teaches a portable garage for a trailer camp comprising a walled enclosure having a main hinged door at its entrance-exit end. The garage is designed to be hitched to a towing car for traveling.
Tisma, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,622 teaches an automobile shelter apparatus comprising an open ended housing to cover the hood portion of an automobile, and an attached frameless covering which is used to cover the remainder.
2. Background
The most popular method used by car owners who do not have garages to protect their cars is a car cover. Although they are a relatively inexpensive means of protecting a car, even in good weather they are bulky and difficult to handle, and when covered with snow or ice, they are very cumbersome to remove and store. To avoid the ritual of removing a car cover in the morning and putting the cover on the car in the evening and to avoid the expense of a conventional frame shelter, which is not practical for a large number of people who live in apartments, it is preferable to provide an inexpensive shelter which stands above the car so that the car can be driven into and out of the shelter whereby the car is kept clean in inclement weather and the owner does not have to bother with cleaning snow and ice off the car, or bother with cumbersome covers before driving.
It is known in the art to make an inexpensive shelter or storage area by building an inexpensive frame and covering the frame with canvas or plastic. Some such structures, for example tents, are also designed to be set up or pitched, and to be broken down and made portable. There is no structure known in the prior art which combines the feature that it is suitable for storing a car inexpensively; and has features which make possible the relatively simple assembly and disassembly of the frame; and has an inexpensive water resistant plastic covering; and can be collapsed into a small bundle of a size convenient to be carried in the trunk of a car.
It is the object of the present invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art structures.